[Glice]

I'm of a similar mind to Mr Noumenal on this 'un. Generally speaking, seeing a band play something they've rehearsed to death in an imperfect setting doesn't excite me, and hasn't for a few years. I still enjoy shows, but I generally prefer improv and classical things.

With rock music, the possibilities afforded by studios are a way of getting around the fact that 90%+ of rock bands aren't technically that proficient. There are exceptions, of course, and one of the main things I like about Sonic Youth is their use of chordal ideas that are bizzarely antithetical to most rock music. To my mind, the studio-heavy emphasis in rock means that the live show is often given a back seat. But, then again, perhaps the reason that the first two albums of a band are usually their best is because they're not comfortable or au fait with the studio, and are closer to their aesthetic feedback coming from their performance.

The thing I get from most live shows I see is that bands over-rehearse things, robbing songs of their spark. With 'classical', as broad a category as that is, the emphasis is always on the playing, and there is minimal interaction between the players and the writers, or between the personality of the musician and the music. Obviously, composers often write with specific players in mind, but even so, I'm right and am bored of writing this now and am going to go to bed goodnight.